A Supreme Court ruling last week opens the door for judges once again to use their discretion in sentencing criminals. It's a welcome decision. In recent decades, Congress and state legislatures have deeply marred American justice by bleeding mercy out of the system.

The court ruled that judges can depart from the strict, by-the-book application of federal sentencing guidelines. Judges will be allowed to use common sense and proportion so that obviously unfair sentences are not handed out.

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